JP4222225B2 - Fuel cell and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel cell including a hydrogen permeable metal layer and a method for manufacturing the fuel cell.

  Conventionally, fuel cells having various structures have been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a fuel cell in which a palladium-based metal film having hydrogen permeability is disposed on the anode side of an electrolyte layer having proton conductivity. In such a fuel cell, for example, a solid electrolyte layer such as ceramic is formed on a hydrogen permeable metal layer which is a metal thin film, and a current collecting electrode is thinly and uniformly formed on the film. Can be manufactured. Sputtering methods, ion plating methods, and the like are used for such electrode film formation techniques.

JP-A-5-299105

  However, in the manufacture of such a fuel cell, micropores such as microcracks or pinholes having a width of several atomic levels may be generated in the solid electrolyte layer due to film forming conditions of the solid electrolyte layer. When an electrode is formed on the solid electrolyte layer having such fine pores by using a sputtering method or an ion plating method to deposit an electrode material at an atomic level, as shown in FIG. The electrode material 420a may enter and adhere to the holes 410a and 410b, causing a short circuit between the electrode 420 and the hydrogen permeable metal layer 400. As a result, the cell efficiency of the entire fuel cell may be reduced.

  An object of this invention is to suppress the fall of the cell efficiency of the fuel cell resulting from the short circuit of an electrode and a hydrogen-permeable metal layer.

  In order to solve the above problems, the fuel cell of the present invention employs the following method. That is, a fuel cell having a hydrogen permeable metal layer containing a hydrogen permeable metal and an electrolyte layer laminated on the hydrogen permeable metal layer and having proton conductivity, and formed on the electrolyte layer An electrode composed of a plurality of electrically discontinuous sections, a current collector formed on a surface of the electrode opposite to the contact surface with the electrolyte layer, and the hydrogen permeation among the plurality of sections. The gist is that a section short-circuited with the conductive metal layer and a blocking means for blocking the electrical connection between the current collector are provided.

  According to the fuel cell of the present invention, the electrode is composed of a plurality of sections, and among the plurality of sections, the electrical connection between the section short-circuited with the hydrogen permeable metal layer and the current collector is cut off. To do. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the range of influence on the electrode due to the presence of the short-circuit section, and to suppress the deterioration of the performance of the fuel cell due to the short-circuit between the hydrogen permeable metal layer and the electrode.

  The fuel cell having the above-described configuration may include partition means for partitioning a plurality of sections constituting the electrode using an insulating material. According to such a fuel cell, an electrically discontinuous partition can be easily formed by partitioning the electrode into a plurality of small areas using partition means. In addition, partitioning with an insulating material can prevent movement of electrons between the compartments.

  The shut-off means of the fuel cell having the above-described configuration may be an insulating layer having insulating properties interposed between the short-circuited section and the current collector. According to such a fuel cell, the electrical connection between the short-circuited section and the current collector can be interrupted by interposing the insulating layer.

  The insulating layer interposed as the blocking means may be provided on either the electrode side or the current collector side as long as it is between the short-circuited section and the current collector, but is particularly short-circuited. It can be a layer formed on the partition and on the electrode side. According to such a fuel cell, an insulating layer can be generated during a series of manufacturing steps for manufacturing an electrode compartment.

  A method for producing a fuel cell according to the present invention is a method for producing a fuel cell having a hydrogen permeable metal layer containing a hydrogen permeable metal and an electrolyte layer laminated on the hydrogen permeable metal layer and having proton conductivity. A method comprising: (a) forming an electrode composed of a plurality of electrically discontinuous sections on the electrolyte layer; and (b) the hydrogen permeable metal layer among the plurality of sections of the electrode. Identifying a section that is short-circuited with each other; and (c) forming a blocking layer that blocks electrical connection between the identified section and a current collector that contacts the section. The gist is to have prepared.

  According to the method for manufacturing a fuel cell of the present invention, an electrode is formed by a plurality of sections, a section that is short-circuited is specified, and electrical connection between the section and the current collector is interrupted. Therefore, even if micropores such as microcracks and pinholes exist in the electrolyte layer, and the electrode material enters the micropores during the electrode manufacturing process and a short circuit occurs, the sections and current collectors that are short-circuited later Can be disconnected from the electrical connection.

  In the method of manufacturing a fuel cell having the above-described configuration, the step (a) includes: (a-1) a step of forming an insulating layer made of an insulating material on the entire surface of the hydrogen permeable metal layer; -2) removing a predetermined portion of the formed insulating layer to form a plurality of regions; (a-3) forming the electrolyte layer for each of the formed regions; a-4) The electrode may be formed on the formed electrolyte layer, and a plurality of sections may be formed.

  According to this method of manufacturing a fuel cell, a part of the insulating layer formed on the hydrogen permeable metal layer is removed, and the surface on the hydrogen permeable metal layer is partitioned into a plurality of regions by the remaining insulating layer. Since the electrolyte layer and the electrode are formed in the region partitioned by the remaining insulating layer, the electrode can be divided into a plurality of electrically discontinuous sections.

  In the method of manufacturing a fuel cell having the above structure, the step (a) includes (a1-1) forming the electrolyte layer on the entire surface of the hydrogen permeable metal layer, and (a1-2) forming the step. Forming the electrode over the entire surface of the electrolyte layer, and (a1-3) removing at least a predetermined portion of the electrolyte layer and the electrode to form a plurality of compartments. It is good as a thing.

  According to this method of manufacturing a fuel cell, after forming an electrolyte layer and an electrode on the hydrogen permeable metal layer, at least a part of the electrode is removed to form a plurality of compartments. Each section constituting the electrode does not come into contact with neighboring sections, and a plurality of sections that are electrically discontinuous can be generated.

  In the method for manufacturing a fuel cell having the above-described configuration, a step of inserting an insulating material into the predetermined portion to be removed in the step (a1-3) and partitioning the compartment may be further added. .

  According to such a method of manufacturing a fuel cell, it is possible to achieve high reliability by inserting an insulating material to electrically discontinue the sections. Moreover, since the space formed by removing the predetermined portion can be filled by inserting an insulating material, it is possible to suppress a decrease in mechanical strength.

  In the method of manufacturing a fuel cell having the above-described configuration, the step (a) includes (a2-1) a step of forming the electrolyte layer on the entire surface of the hydrogen permeable metal layer, and (a2-2) on the entire surface. A step of removing a predetermined portion of the formed electrolyte layer and dividing the electrolyte layer into a plurality of portions; and (a2-3) inserting an insulating material into the predetermined portion to be removed to form the partition And (a2-4) forming the electrodes on the divided electrolyte layer and forming a plurality of compartments.

  In the method of manufacturing a fuel cell having the above-described configuration, the step (c) includes (c-1) a step of generating a material that can serve as a blocking layer for blocking the electrical connection on the specified section; -2) The material may be subjected to a predetermined treatment to make the material an insulating material and to form the blocking layer.

  According to such a method of manufacturing a fuel cell, a material having an insulating property is applied to a material constituting the barrier layer by performing a predetermined process, and the barrier layer is formed through a predetermined process. Therefore, it is possible to give a wide range of choices of materials used for the barrier layer.

  In the method of manufacturing a fuel cell having the above-described configuration, step (c) is a step of forming a plating layer using an electrolytic plating method as the blocking layer on the short-circuited section. It is good also as what interrupts | blocks the said electrical connection, without implementing the said process (b) by producing | generating the said layer of plating selectively on the division which has.

  According to such a method of manufacturing a fuel cell, by using an electroplating method that generates a plating layer by energization, plating is selectively performed on a section short-circuited between each section and the hydrogen permeable metal layer. Layers can be produced. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate an inspection process for identifying the short-circuited section. Further, by using the electrolytic plating method, a plating layer is not generated in a section where a short circuit does not occur, so that a process such as masking for avoiding film formation outside the intended place can be made unnecessary.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order based on examples.
A. Fuel cell configuration:
B. Partition member structure:
C. Manufacturing method of MEA:
C-1. Variation of manufacturing method:
D. Second embodiment:
E. Variations:

A. Fuel cell configuration:
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a single cell constituting a fuel cell as a first embodiment of the present invention. The fuel cell of the first embodiment is a hydrogen separation membrane fuel cell having a hydrogen separation membrane that separates hydrogen from fuel gas, and a plurality of single cells 10 shown in FIG. 1 are stacked to give fastening force from both ends. Thus, a stack structure is formed in which a plurality of single cells 10 are connected in series.

  As shown in FIG. 1, this single cell 10 mainly includes gas separators 60 and 70 that serve as a flow path for a fuel gas and an oxidizing gas used in an electrochemical reaction in a fuel cell, an electrolyte membrane, and an electrode. The MEA 100 (Membrane-Electrode Assembly) and the like are provided, and the MEA 100 is sandwiched between gas separators 60 and 70 from both sides. Although illustration is omitted, in order to adjust the internal temperature of the stack structure, a refrigerant flow path through which a refrigerant for cooling the fuel cell passes is provided between each single cell or each time a predetermined number of single cells are stacked. It may be provided.

  The gas separators 60 and 70 are made of a conductive material such as carbon or metal, and are formed of a dense material that does not allow fuel gas and oxidant gas to permeate. The surface of the gas separator 60 has a concavo-convex shape that forms a fuel gas channel 65 that guides the fuel gas to the inside of the single cell 10, and the surface of the gas separator 70 has an oxidizing gas channel 75 that guides the oxidizing gas to the inside of the unit cell 10. The uneven shape to be formed is formed respectively.

  Of the flow paths of the gas separators 60 and 70, the fuel gas flow path 65 contains hydrogen-rich gas obtained by reforming hydrocarbon fuel as fuel gas, and the oxidant gas flow path 75 contains air as oxidizing gas. Are supplied respectively. The gas separators 60 and 70 have a function of collecting electricity generated by an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen in the supplied hydrogen-rich gas and oxygen in the air.

  The MEA 100 includes a hydrogen permeable metal layer 20 as a hydrogen separation membrane, an electrolyte layer 30 as an electrolyte membrane, a partition member 50, a cathode electrode 40, and the like. The hydrogen permeable metal layer 20 is a layer made of a metal having hydrogen permeability, and can be formed of, for example, palladium (Pd), a Pd alloy, or the like. The hydrogen permeable metal layer 20 selectively permeates only hydrogen contained in the hydrogen rich gas out of the hydrogen rich gas supplied through the fuel gas flow path 65. In this embodiment, this hydrogen permeable metal layer 20 has a function as a hydrogen separation membrane, a catalyst function for activating hydrogen ionization (proton), and a function as an anode electrode.

The electrolyte layer 30 is made of a solid electrolyte having proton conductivity and is an electrically insulating layer. For the electrolyte layer 30, for example, BaCeO ₃ or SrCeO ₃ -based perovskite or pyrochlore that is a solid oxide can be used. The electrolyte layer 30 is formed as a thin film on the dense hydrogen permeable metal layer 20. Such thinning reduces the film resistance of the solid oxide.

  The cathode electrode 40 is a metal layer formed on the electrolyte layer 30 and can be formed of, for example, Pd. The cathode electrode 40 can be formed of a noble metal having catalytic activity that promotes an electrochemical reaction. In order to promote the electrochemical reaction, a catalyst layer such as platinum (Pt) may be provided.

  The partition member 50 is made of an insulating material, and is a member that divides the electrolyte layer 30 formed on the hydrogen permeable metal layer 20 and the cathode electrode 40 on the electrolyte layer 30 into a plurality of sections. In other words, the cathode electrode 40 is configured as an aggregate of a plurality of electrically non-continuous sections. For example, a predetermined treatment is performed on an undesired section having a defect or the like, and the other sections are effectively used. be able to. A method for manufacturing the MEA 100 made of such components will be described later.

B. Partition member structure:
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the shape of the partition member 50 constituting the MEA 100 of the first embodiment. 2A is a plan view of the MEA 100 as viewed from the cathode electrode 40 side, and FIG. 2B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the MEA 100 as in FIG. The numbers 1 to 6 shown in FIG. 2A indicate numbers for distinguishing the sections.

  As shown in the drawing, the partition member 50 has a frame shape that divides the electrolyte layer 30 and the cathode electrode 40 into six equal areas having a small area, and is provided on the hydrogen permeable metal layer 20. In this embodiment, the shape of the partition member 50 is determined so as to provide six sections (sections 1 to 6). However, if the shape of the partition member 50 is determined in accordance with the desired number of sections. good.

  The sections divided into six are electrically discontinuous by the partition member 50 that is an insulating material. Of these compartments (1-6), in the process of forming the electrolyte layer 30 on the hydrogen permeable metal layer 20, it is assumed that, for example, fine holes 30a such as pinholes and cracks are generated in the electrolyte layer 30 of the compartment 6. . When the cathode electrode 40 is formed on the electrolyte layer 30 having the micropores 30a in the compartment 6, the cathode electrode material 40a enters and adheres to the micropores 30a, and the compartment 6 includes the hydrogen permeable metal layer 20, the cathode electrode 40, and the like. It becomes a short circuit section in which a short circuit occurs. In this embodiment, an insulating layer 55 made of an insulating material is formed only on the surface of the cathode electrode 40 in this short-circuit section. By doing so, even if there is a short-circuit occurrence location in the section 6, the sections 1 to 5 can be used.

  According to the MEA 100 structure of the first embodiment, a component that has been treated as inappropriate as a component of the MEA 100 when a short circuit has occurred between the hydrogen permeable metal layer and the electrode even at one location. Can be used by forming the insulating layer 55 only in the section short-circuited using the partition member 50. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the whole 5/6 can be used by applying an insulating layer 55 to the section 6. That is, it is possible to prevent a short circuit and suppress a decrease in the performance of the fuel cell, and to increase the yield of products.

C. Manufacturing method of MEA:
Below, the manufacturing process of MEA100 which consists of the hydrogen permeable metal layer 20, the electrolyte layer 30, the cathode electrode 40, and the partition member 50 is demonstrated as a manufacturing method of the single cell 10 which comprises a fuel cell. FIG. 3 is a process diagram showing the manufacturing process of the MEA 100.

  In the manufacture of the MEA 100, the hydrogen permeable metal layer 20 serving as the structural base material of the MEA 100 is prepared (step S300). As a base material for forming the hydrogen permeable metal layer 20, a Pd alloy is used.

Subsequently, an insulating material layer made of an insulating material is formed on the surface of the hydrogen permeable metal layer 20 (step S310). Silicon dioxide (SiO ₂ ) is used for the insulating material layer. For the formation of the insulating material layer, a sputtering method which is a physical vapor deposition method (PVD) is used, but an ion plating method or the like may be used.

  Of the insulating material layer formed in step S310, unnecessary portions are removed by etching (step S320). Through this process, the insulating material layer forms the partition member 50 having the shape shown in FIG. That is, the unnecessary portion of the insulating material layer to be removed by etching is a portion corresponding to the position of each section (1-6) shown in FIG. 2, and the insulating material layer is deep enough to expose the hydrogen permeable metal layer 20. Removed. The removal of the insulating material layer is not limited to etching, and sputtering using argon ions and various chemical and physical removal methods can be used.

The electrolyte layer 30 is formed on the hydrogen permeable metal layer 20 exposed by removing the insulating material layer in this manner (step S330). The electrolyte layer 30 uses a BaCeO ₃ perovskite that is a solid oxide, and the physical vapor deposition (PVD) described above is used for film formation. By such a film formation method, the above-described solid oxide is generated (crystallized) on the hydrogen permeable metal layer 20 to form a film, and the electrolyte layer 30 is formed. The thickness of the electrolyte layer 30 is about half of the thickness of the existing partition member 50. Note that a chemical vapor deposition method (CVD) or the like may be used as a film formation method.

  Subsequently, the cathode electrode 40 is formed on the electrolyte layer 30 formed in step S330 (step S340). Pd is used for the cathode electrode 40. This film forming method also uses physical vapor deposition (PVD) as in the above-described film forming. Thereby, the electrode member (Pd) constituting the cathode electrode 40 is released at the atomic level, and a thin and uniform film is generated on the electrolyte layer 30. The cathode electrode 40 formed in this process is divided into six sections by the partition member 50 generated in step S320.

  For the section of the cathode electrode 40 formed in this way, the insulating layer 55 made of an insulating material is formed on the electrode surface of the predetermined section (step S350), and the MEA 100 is completed. The predetermined section in this step is a section that is short-circuited between the hydrogen-permeable metal layer 20 and the section of the cathode electrode 40 (short-circuit section). As a method for forming the insulating layer 55 in the short-circuit section, an electrolytic plating method is used.

In the electroplating method, since the plating is performed by energization, the insulating layer 55 is not formed in the section on the electrolyte layer 30 that is not conductive (that is, has no defect), and is selective only to the short-circuit section to be energized. Then, an insulating layer 55 is formed. That is, plating can be performed without requiring an inspection process for identifying a section where a short circuit occurs. In this embodiment, silicon dioxide (SiO ₂ ) is used as an insulating material for the insulating layer 55 generated by the electrolytic plating method. The material used for the electroplating method is not limited to an insulating material. For example, a metal layer made of a metal such as Cr or Al is formed in the short-circuit section of the cathode electrode 30 and then subjected to oxidation treatment and nitriding treatment. The layer may be changed to the insulating layer 55.

  The gas separators 60 and 70 are arranged so as to sandwich the MEA 100 completed through this series of steps to form a single cell 10, and a predetermined number of the single cells 10 are stacked to complete a fuel cell.

  According to the method of manufacturing a fuel cell including the steps described above, a single cell in which only a section short-circuited between the hydrogen-permeable metal layer 20 and the cathode electrode 40 is covered with the insulating layer 55 to prevent a short circuit. 10 can be manufactured. Therefore, even the electrolyte layer 30 having defects due to film formation conditions such as temperature can be used as a component of the fuel cell. As a result, it is possible to reduce the burden of managing film formation conditions for reducing defects in the electrolyte layer 30. Furthermore, since the electroplating method is used to form the insulating layer 55 applied to the short-circuited section, an inspection process for identifying the section where the short-circuit occurs is not required. Further, according to the electrolytic plating method, in the manufacturing process of the insulating layer 55, it is not necessary to perform a process such as masking so that an insulating material does not adhere to a section that is not short-circuited.

C-1. Variation of manufacturing method:
In the manufacturing method of the first embodiment, the MEA 100 is manufactured by first forming the partition member 50 on the hydrogen permeable metal layer 20 and forming the electrolyte layer 30 and the cathode electrode 40 in this order. The manufacturing method shown in FIG. 4 may be used.

  FIG. 4 is a process diagram showing a MEA manufacturing process as a modification of the manufacturing method of the first embodiment. In addition, since the material used for each layer etc. is the same as that of the manufacturing method of 1st Example, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in the drawing, a hydrogen permeable metal layer 20 serving as a base material having a MEA structure is prepared (step S400). This process is the same as step S300 of the process diagram shown in FIG. Subsequently, the electrolyte layer 30 is formed on the hydrogen permeable metal layer 20 (step S410), and further, the cathode electrode 40 is formed (step S420). The physical vapor deposition method described above is used to form the electrolyte layer 30 and the cathode electrode 40.

  The cathode electrode 40 and the electrolyte layer 30 formed in this way are subjected to removal of unnecessary portions using etching to generate six sections (step S430). That is, six compartments composed of the electrolyte layer 30 and the cathode electrode 40 are generated on the hydrogen permeable metal layer 20, and each compartment is discontinuous with the neighboring compartments.

  Subsequently, a partition member 50 made of an insulating material is formed in the space created by removing unnecessary portions in step S430 (step S440).

  Whether or not a short circuit occurs between each partition separated by the partition member 50 and the hydrogen permeable metal layer 20 is inspected (step S450). In this inspection process, a short circuit between each of the compartments 1 to 6 and the hydrogen permeable metal layer 20 is examined using a tester or the like.

  Thus, the presence or absence of the short circuit section is inspected, and if the short circuit section does not exist, the MEA is completed as it is. On the other hand, when the short circuit section exists, the insulating layer 55 is formed in the short circuit section (step S460), and the MEA is completed. The insulating layer 55 is formed by physical vapor deposition. Note that, similarly to the manufacturing method of the first embodiment, a metal layer made of metal may be formed in the specified short-circuit section, and then the insulating layer 55 may be formed through oxidation treatment or the like.

  According to such a manufacturing method, even if a defect exists in the electrolyte layer 30, the insulating layer 55 can be applied later to cope with it. Therefore, when forming the electrolyte layer 30 and the cathode electrode 40, the film formation conditions such as temperature are detailed. There is no need to manage.

  In the manufacturing method shown in FIG. 4, the partition member 50 is manufactured last. For example, after the electrolyte layer 30 is formed on the entire surface of the hydrogen permeable metal layer 20, the partition member 50 is formed and the partition member 50 is formed. The cathode electrode 40 may be formed in the formed compartment. In this case, a portion unnecessary for forming the partition member 50 may be removed from the electrolyte layer 30 formed on the entire surface of the hydrogen permeable metal layer 20 by etching or the like. Further, instead of the inspection process in step S450 and the formation of the insulation increase 55 in step S460, the electrolytic plating method shown in step S350 in FIG. 3 may be used.

  In the manufacturing method of FIG. 4, a part of the electrolyte layer 30 is also removed by etching, but the partition member 50 only needs to divide the cathode electrode 40, and the electrolyte layer 30 is not necessarily removed by etching. .

  As another manufacturing method, the partition member 50 may be formed from the beginning as a structure, stacked on the hydrogen permeable metal layer 20, and the electrolyte layer 30 and the cathode electrode 40 may be sequentially formed. In this case, since the partition member 50 is handled as one structure, the partition member 50 needs to have a predetermined thickness, but can be dealt with by adjusting the gas separator side.

D. Second embodiment:
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an MEA constituting a single cell of a fuel cell as a second embodiment. FIG. 5A shows a plan view of the MEA 200 viewed from the cathode electrode side, and FIG. 5B shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the MEA 200. In addition, the numbers 1-6 shown to Fig.5 (a) have shown the number for distinguishing a division.

  As shown in the figure, the MEA 200 of the second embodiment is composed of a hydrogen permeable metal layer 20, an electrolyte layer 30, a cathode electrode 40, and the like, like the MEA 100 of the first embodiment. Accordingly, the materials, functions, and the like of each layer are the same as those of the MEA 100 of the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In the MEA 200 of the second embodiment, a partition made up of six electrolyte layers 30 and a cathode electrode 40 is provided on the hydrogen permeable metal layer 20. In the MEA 100 of the first embodiment, the cathode member 40 is divided into a plurality of sections using the partition member 50, but the partition member 50 is not used in the MEA 200 of the second embodiment. That is, in the MEA 200 of the second embodiment, the cathode electrode 40 is configured by six independent sections that are electrically non-continuous with each other.

  Of these six sections, the insulating layer 55 is formed only in the section that is short-circuited with the hydrogen permeable metal layer 20. In the MEA 200 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that a short circuit has occurred in the section 6.

  In the MEA 200 of the second embodiment, for example, as shown in step S430 of the process diagram shown in FIG. 4, the electrolyte layer 30 and the cathode electrode 40 formed on the entire surface of the hydrogen permeable metal layer 20 are divided by etching. And an independent partition may be generated. Then, it can manufacture by giving the insulating layer 55 only to the identified short circuit section (compartment 6 shown in FIG. 5) through the process of inspecting the presence or absence of the short circuit section.

  According to the MEA 200 of the second embodiment described above, since each section is electrically discontinuous, even if a short circuit occurs in one section, the other sections are independent. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a short circuit by covering only the shorted section with the insulating layer 55. Furthermore, the number of manufacturing steps can be reduced as compared with the manufacturing of the MEA 100 of the first embodiment.

E. Variations:
In the present embodiment, the size of each section has been described as being substantially equal, but the size of each section may be unequal. Further, it is not necessary that the plurality of sections are arranged in an orderly manner.

  Furthermore, in the manufacturing method of the first embodiment, the partition member 50 is formed from the insulating material layer, but the partition member 50 does not have to be an insulating material. For example, even if it is an electroconductive material, the partition member 50 should just be removed at the end of the manufacturing process of MEA100. In this case, the MEA 200 similar to that of the second embodiment can be formed by removing the partition member 50.

  Further, it is not always necessary to form the insulating layer 55 on the cathode electrode 40 in the short-circuited section. For example, a section that is short-circuited in an inspection process using a tester may be specified, and an insulating material may be formed on the side of the gas separator adjacent to the section, or an insulating material may be interposed between the two. Furthermore, it is good also as what adjusts on the electrode side or the gas separator side so that a short circuit section and a gas separator may be in a non-contact state without interposing an insulating substance.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and can of course be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention. . In this embodiment, the cathode electrode is divided into six sections by the partition member, but any number of sections may be used as long as it is two or more.

It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram which shows schematic structure of the single cell which comprises the fuel cell as 1st Example of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the shape of the partition member which comprises MEA of a present Example. It is process drawing which shows the manufacturing process of MEA of a present Example. It is process drawing which shows the manufacturing process of MEA. It is a schematic diagram which shows the shape of MEA. It is explanatory drawing which shows the film-forming of the conventional electrode.

Explanation of symbols

10 ... single cell 20 ... hydrogen permeable metal layer 30 ... electrolyte layer 30a ... crack 40 ... cathode electrode 40a ... electrode material 50 ... partitioning member 55 ... insulating layer 60, 70 ... Gas separator 65, 75 ... Gas flow path 100, 200 ... MEA
400 ... hydrogen permeable metal layer 410 ... electrolyte layer 410a, 410b ... crack 420 ... cathode electrode 420a ... electrode material

Claims (11)

A solid oxide fuel cell comprising a hydrogen permeable metal layer containing a hydrogen permeable metal, and an electrolyte layer laminated on the hydrogen permeable metal layer and having proton conductivity,
An electrode formed on the electrolyte layer and composed of a plurality of electrically discontinuous sections;
A current collector formed on a surface of the electrode opposite to the contact surface with the electrolyte layer;
A solid oxide fuel cell comprising: a plurality of sections, a section that is short-circuited with the hydrogen-permeable metal layer, and a blocking unit that blocks electrical connection between the current collector. The solid oxide fuel cell according to claim 1,
A solid oxide fuel cell provided with partition means for partitioning a plurality of partitions constituting the electrode using an insulating material. The solid oxide fuel cell according to claim 1 or 2,
The said interruption | blocking means is a solid oxide fuel cell which is an insulating layer which has the insulation between the section and the said collector which are short-circuited. The solid oxide fuel cell according to claim 3,
The insulating layer is a solid oxide fuel cell which is a layer formed on the electrode side and on the short-circuited section. A method for producing a solid oxide fuel cell comprising a hydrogen permeable metal layer containing a hydrogen permeable metal, and an electrolyte layer laminated on the hydrogen permeable metal layer and having proton conductivity,
(A) forming an electrode comprising a plurality of electrically discontinuous sections on the electrolyte layer;
(B) a step of specifying a section short-circuited with the hydrogen permeable metal layer among the plurality of sections of the electrode;
(C) A method of manufacturing a solid oxide fuel cell, comprising: a step of forming a blocking layer that blocks electrical connection between the identified section and a current collector in contact with the section. A method for producing a solid oxide fuel cell according to claim 5, comprising :
The step (a)
(A-1) forming an insulating layer made of an insulating material on the entire surface of the hydrogen permeable metal layer;
(A-2) a step of removing a predetermined portion of the formed insulating layer to form a plurality of regions;
(A-3) forming the electrolyte layer for each of the formed regions;
(A-4) A method of manufacturing a solid oxide fuel cell comprising: forming the electrode on the formed electrolyte layer and forming a plurality of compartments. A method for producing a solid oxide fuel cell according to claim 5, comprising :
The step (a)
(A1-1) forming the electrolyte layer on the entire surface of the hydrogen permeable metal layer;
(A1-2) forming the electrode on the entire surface of the formed electrolyte layer;
(A1-3) A method for producing a solid oxide fuel cell comprising: a step of removing at least a predetermined portion of the electrolyte layer and the electrode to form a plurality of compartments. A method for producing a solid oxide fuel cell according to claim 7,
A method for producing a solid oxide fuel cell, further comprising the step of inserting an insulating material into the predetermined portion to be removed in the step (a1-3) to partition the compartment. A method for producing a solid oxide fuel cell according to claim 5, comprising :
The step (a)
(A2-1) forming the electrolyte layer on the entire surface of the hydrogen permeable metal layer;
(A2-2) removing a predetermined portion of the electrolyte layer formed on the entire surface and dividing the electrolyte layer into a plurality of steps;
(A2-3) inserting the insulating material into the predetermined portion to be removed and partitioning the compartment;
(A2-4) A method of manufacturing a solid oxide fuel cell, comprising: forming the electrodes on the divided electrolyte layer and forming a plurality of compartments. A method for producing a solid oxide fuel cell according to claim 5, comprising :
The step (c)
(C-1) generating a material that can be a blocking layer that blocks the electrical connection on the identified section;
(C-2) A method for producing a solid oxide fuel cell, comprising: applying a predetermined treatment to the material to make the material an insulating material and forming the blocking layer. A method for producing a solid oxide fuel cell according to claim 5, comprising :
The step (c) is a step of generating a plating layer using an electrolytic plating method as the blocking layer on the short-circuited section,
The manufacturing method of the solid oxide fuel cell which interrupts | blocks the said electrical connection, without implementing the said process (b) by producing | generating the said layer of plating selectively on the section which has short-circuited.

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